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« Previous EntriesNew Lincoln Documents from the Black Hawk War Emerge
Thursday, November 10th, 2011While such documents by themselves do not necessarily lead us to re-evaluate everything we know about Lincoln’s service in the Black Hawk War, they are nonetheless significant. At the very least, remind us that Lincoln’s wartime service was important to him and his contemporaries. Perhaps too, as Veterans Day approaches, it is important for us to remember that Lincoln, like so many of our friends, family, and neighbors answered the call to duty.
Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief
Tuesday, October 21st, 2008I am quite sorry for my recent abscence from the blogosphere. Thank you for your emails. I suppose the only thing I can tell you right now is that I have quite a good reason for being scarce. More on that later. At any rate, I want to be sure to tell you about a [...]
New Evidence of Lincoln’s Anger?
Monday, October 6th, 2008A new letter written by Abraham Lincoln has surfaced. You can read more about this discovery, as well as the context of the letter, on the Discovery Channel’s website. The reporter seems surprised that Lincoln displays a fair amount of anger in this letter. However, take a moment to read my quick translation. In my view, [...]
Gettysburg: The Superbowl for Civil War Re-Enactors
Thursday, July 3rd, 2008Gettysburg is the World Series and Superbowl rolled into one for Civil War re-enactors. An estimated 15,000 “living historians,” clad in wool uniforms and bearing muskets, will converge on the little town in Pennsylvania throughout the week to mark the 145th anniversary of the battle. Forget high gas prices, rain coulds are the only thing organizers are [...]
Gettysburg: 145 Years Later
Tuesday, July 1st, 2008What do you think about when you hear the word Gettysburg? The word is almost synonymous with the war itself. It represents, at least to many of us, the most important battle, the key moment, or the turning point in the American Civil War. Civil War enthusiasts might debate the validity of such statements; for example, Vicksburg was a [...]
Surrender at Appomattox
Wednesday, April 9th, 2008One of the most significant scenes in American history took place 143 years ago today. Why not let someone who was there explain what happened? The following account comes from the Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant (New York, 1885), 555-560. I had known General Lee in the old army, and had served with him [...]
Ready to be President on “Day One”
Monday, March 17th, 2008Hillary Clinton often says she will be ready to be president on “day one.” No need for a “week of orientation” or any “on the job training.” No, if elected, she will “hit the ground running.” The message is clear. She believes she has more experience than her Democratic rival, Barrack Obama. After all, while [...]
1864: “Clear Before My Own Conscience”
Tuesday, March 11th, 2008The president needed a general. Though he “never professed to be a military man or to know how campaigns should be conducted,” Abraham Lincoln was nonetheless frustrated by the inaction of Generals George McClellan, Ambrose Burnside, Joseph Hooker, and George Meade. Too often, these procrastinating generals forced him into issuing ill-conceived military orders. By 1864, [...]
The Tools of War Remain Dangerous
Thursday, February 21st, 2008A very sad story today out of Richmond, Virginia. A man who sold Civil War relics, including artillery shells, cannonballs, and bullets, was killed in his backyard yesterday, apparently while trying to disarm Civil War era ordnance. Police say Samuel H. White was the victim. He was the owner of Sam White Relics, which according [...]
2008 Lincoln Prize…A Split Decision
Friday, February 15th, 2008The results are in. The winner of this year’s coveted Lincoln Prize, the most prestigious (and generous) award in the field of Lincoln Studies, is… Wait a minute…we have a split decision! The award goes to two different books: The Radical and the Republican: Frederick Douglass, Abraham Lincoln, and the Triumph of Antislavery Politics [...]
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